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Monday, March 21, 2016

Pro-Life At Home But Not Abroad

Christians Need To Broaden Their Pro-Life Horizons

Conventional wisdom says that a Republican candidate for President
will almost certainly not win the nomination unless they are
sufficiently pro-life. Mitt Romney and now Donald Trump have gone to
great lengths to convince voters that, despite their past track records
and public statements, they are, in fact, solidly pro-life. Every GOP
candidate, except Gov. George Pataki who never had a realistic chance
partly due to his position on abortion, has proudly highlighted their
pro-life credentials.

Conservative organizations such as National Right to Life and the
Susan B. Anthony List regularly maintain pro-life score cards which are
widely disseminated among Christians. National Right to Life’s current
scorecard lists 11 areas of concern in the U.S. House of Representatives
for the 114th Congress including bills such as the No
Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 7) and Pain-Capable Unborn Child
Protection Act (20-week abortion ban).

All of the pro-life scorecards focus on abortion and the public
funding of abortion. Depending on the congressional agenda from year to
year some may address other issues such as euthanasia or infanticide.
But one huge, glaring area of concern that goes unmeasured is foreign
policy.

A nation’s foreign policy ought to have tremendous bearing for those
of us who are passionately and rightly engaged with the issues of
justice we refer to as “right to life” and “pro-life.” Pro-life
organizations do address foreign policy from time to time but only when
it touches upon abortion such as foreign aid to organizations that
promote abortion or abortion on military bases. A case can be made,
however, that the entire paradigm of what we consider to be pro-life can
be expanded to include areas of foreign policy, particularly war and
interventionism.

Expanding the boundaries of what is considered to be pro-life is not a
new concept. For years the religious left and others have argued that
pro-life continues “outside the womb too.” This was a line of reasoning
used recently by Gov. Chris Christie as he argued for more funding for
drug treatment programs. This approach has been used by progressives who
opposed the war in Iraq. Many of the individuals using this argument
were pro-abortion (or whatever alternative term they prefer) and ceased
their anti-war efforts once a Republican was no longer in office,
despite continuing aggressive efforts by the party they supported.

While the pro-life label could arguably be attached to several causes
beyond abortion, war has the most glaring, lethal consequences for
human life. In my experience, those who are ardently pro-life are often
also enthusiastically pro-war. Perhaps they wouldn’t say they are pro-war. They might say
they hate war but are for a strong “defense” and “security.” Regardless
of the verbiage, they largely support the neo-conservative platform of
interventionism, regime change, and perpetual war. A quick glance at the
presidential race easily confirms this.

A telling example can be found among the fervently pro-life Christian
supporters of Marco Rubio. They tell us that Rubio is the strongest
pro-life candidate in the race and they may be right. They cite his
eloquent response to an atheist voter and his heartfelt prayer for a man
who collapsed at one of his rallies. In the eyes of many Christian
voters, he’s the real deal. What I never see discussed by these
supporters, however, is that Marco Rubio is also the leading proponent
of the continuation and expansion of the foreign policy that has caused
so much death and destruction in recent decades.

I am merely using Rubio as an example, and will not take the time to
detail his foreign policy here. The point is to observe the terrific
disconnect between domestic policy and foreign policy in the minds of
purportedly “pro-life” Christians. Libertarian Christians have much to
offer in this area. How so?

The mission statement of National Right to Life, for instance,
begins: “The mission of National Right to Life is to protect and defend
the most fundamental right of humankind, the right to life of every
innocent human being from the beginning of life to natural death.”
Notice these key elements: “right to life,” “every innocent human
being,” and “beginning of life to natural death.” There is tremendous
space for common ground here among conservative and libertarian
Christians. I would simply encourage my conservative brothers and
sisters in Christ to take these concepts which are intended to refer to
abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia (as per NRLC’s
own website) and also include war.

The effects of war in general and the recent U.S. military
interventions in the Middle East in particular should be obvious to
anyone by now. Countless innocent civilians have been killed. America’s
regime change agenda has resulted in even more murder, rape, and
oppression which has robbed innocent human beings of “the most
fundamental right of humankind, the right to life of every innocent
human being from the beginning of life to natural death.”

Yet pro-life Christians are enthusiastically supporting candidates
for President who are calling for larger numbers of American troops on
the ground, more aid to local fighters, expanded airstrikes in Syria and
Iraq, and the arming of Sunni tribal and Kurdish forces. Some are even
calling for the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria despite the
disastrous results of regime change in neighboring countries such as
Iraq. The folly of such approaches recently came to light with the news
that U.S.-backed Syrian rebels are currently fighting U.S.-backed
Kurdish units. Not only that but U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters are in
open conflict with the U.S.’s NATO ally, Turkey. These are just two of
the most recent revelations of the counter-productive results of U.S.
military intervention.

The problems are not just confined to the actions of political
leaders. Pro-life and Christian leaders themselves have also taken steps
to undermine the right to life overseas. In a call to action referred
to as Iraq Rescue, several influential Christian leaders signed on to a statement that included the following proposals:

“We call upon President Obama and the Congress of the United States
to expand airstrikes against ISIS/ISIL with a view to eroding its
military power, and to provide full air support for Kurdish and other
forces fighting against ISIS/ISIL. Further, we endorse the Washington Post’s
call for the United States to provide arms, ammunition, and equipment
to Kurdish forces, Sunni tribesmen, and others who are currently
hampered in their ability to fight ISIS/ISIL by a lack of sophisticated
weapons and other resources. The U.S. should also assist with
intelligence. We are hopeful that local forces, with adequate support
and assistance from the U.S. and the international community, can defeat
ISIS/ISIL.”

These are the same tried and failed options that continue to
undermine the right to life in Middle Eastern countries. The signers of
Iraq Rescue want military intervention in order to protect the innocent
people who are being slaughtered by ISIS, but they fail to realize they
are supporting the very actions that gave rise to ISIS in the first
place (which I have addressed here).

Being pro-life is not limited to fighting for the rights of pre-born babies and the right to life extends to all human beings, not just Americans.
If more pro-life Christians would become aware of what is happening in
the Middle East and see how our government’s policies are directly
undermining “the most fundamental right of humankind,” we could begin to
see some real change toward a more life-affirming foreign policy. An
election year is a good time for pro-life Christians to ask themselves,
“Am I pro-life when it comes to foreign policy? What would it look like
for me to be not just pro-life and anti-abortion but also pro-life and
anti-war?” As you consider these questions, please visit the Resources
page of the Libertarian Christian Institute and Libertarians for Life to give you more food for thought.

Jeff Wright, Jr.is a Chaplain in a "city of lost souls" and holds a Master of
Theology (ThM) from Dallas Theological Seminary. His other areas of
interest include the kingdom of God, American evangelicalism, the
ministry of the local church, and all things
Star Wars. He also blogs at Libertarian Christian Institute. You can find him @jeffwrightjr.

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Beloved child of God. Following Jesus the Christ. Allied with the uniquely beautiful kingdom of God. Prison Pastor, City of Crying Souls. *All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of my employer, my church, or anyone else.